"DALTON, Ga. - Trillions of cubic feet of natural gas believed to lie below the hills of northwest Georgia have remained virtually untouched and unwanted - until now.Shale gas drilling is slowing across the country, but a handful of companies are poking around this corner of the state looking for the next natural gas "play." If they succeed, Georgia could join the ranks of states reaping jobs, revenue and fears of environmental damage from energy production, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has learned.It has been at least 30 years since Georgia - which has never produced a drop of oil or natural gas - has seen as much exploratory activity.An Oklahoma-based company that leased 7,500 acres of land outside Dalton has two test wells in place and plans another nearby. Seventy miles away, near Cave Spring, a Texas oil, gas and development conglomerate plans a deeper well.At least three other companies have recently researched the so-called Conasauga shale field, a 20-by-100 mile swath of farm and forest that runs from Alabama across Georgia and into Tennessee.Georgia joins Tennessee and North Carolina as Southern states newly popular with wildcatters and major gas and oil companies.